Andrew J. Ryan
Andrew J. Ryan ia Sergeant Major serving in the 3 ID 3rd Armour BDE. Profile Early Life Ryan was born in 1909, the son of a prestigious Boston lawyer and a beautiful actress known to be quite the seductress. When the Great War rolled around in 1917 for the Americans, Ryan's father was dreadfully drafted into duty. Known for his weak stomach and cowardice, it was doubtful the man would even survive the war. During his father's service in Europe, he grew extremely close to his mother. She shared the same love for her first-born son, but was usually to busy to show for it. At the end of World War I, Ryan's father returned home a changed man. He grew to be more quiet and reserved to such an extent that he never spoke to his family of what happened during the war. Now 9 years old, he began to neglect Ryan and looked down upon him with shame. He had grown to be independent and rebellious without much parental guidance or contact. Doing poorly in school, it seemed that Ryan would never be able to shape up and meet his father's expectations. Ryan's father distanced himself from the boy and would later send him off to various boarding schools...where he continued to get kicked out. If it wasn't for his mother, Ryan would have been given up for an adoption and erased from his family's memory. Instead however, he was banished from his home and family while his parents raised better children. This only fueled Ryan's independent and rebellious nature, who had transformed into a bully and generally bad ass kid. He was the kind of kid who set the school on fire for the hell of it or got in fist fights...with the teachers. In 1921, he was finally labeled as a troubled teenager and his father sent him off to a military academy. Gradually, he slowly abandoned his old ways. By 8th Grade, he had become a good citizen and displayed sure signs of patriotism, self-reliance, and leadership. Known for his terrible social skills, he finally became skilled in communication needed for the army as well as respect for his role and superiors. When he graduated from the academy, which was in essence a middle school, his father offered him the chance to go to a respectable high school in the Boston area. Ryan turned the offer down and instead enrolled at a military academy for grades 9-12. He became a shining star having completely shed his former self and became a military man. His father still showed little compassion for his son. Although, he had changed and improved his education... he was becoming something despised in his father's eyes. Deeply scarred by the Great War, his father couldn't forgive his child for wanting to join the military. Though such trivial matters didn't affect Ryan, who would become on of the greatest athletes and students to grace the schools presence. By the time he became a Senior, his face was plastered all over the school including several trophies and awards. He would later graduate in the top percentile of his class. However, his family who he hadn't seen since he was 12, still didn't show up at his graduation. Once more, he was offered by his father the chance to get into any of the Ivy League colleges, but turned it down. Even when his father offered to get him into West Point, Ryan knew his place was amongst the NCOs. Military Service: Pre-War The year was 1927 and Andrew Ryan had finally turned 18 and graduated from his high school/military academy. Soon after, he enlisted in the Army. Due to his military training, he completed BCT as a PFC with ease. Although, the next few years would be filled with peace and Ryan wouldn't see combat for several years, he still rose through the ranks with a natural ease. In October of 1930, he turned home to his family for a visit for the first time in nearly 10 years. He wanted to celebrate his success at obtaining the rank of Sergeant. However, when he arrived he found his entire family dead. Apparently, his father had been unemployed for some time and finally snapped. It had been the news of his son's promotion that brought back the shameful memories of his service in World War I. Believing he was being merciful by not letting his family live through the depression and his failures, he shot them all before hanging himself. Ryan had walked in on the mess happily and glad to finally see his family once more... but instead found nothing but blood and corpses. He saw his nine year old brother, six year old brother, and three year old sister for the first time... with several bullet wounds from a pistol that had obviously been held unstably. His father's grip had obviously been shaky as there were several marks where he had missed or shot a few extra times to try and wound his family fatally. The bloody mess hit home to the soldier who had seen death before combat. He wept over the loss of his family and for some odd reason... he wept the most at his father who dangled from the ceiling by rope stained in blood. Grief stricken and humiliated, Ryan vowed to bring honor to his father's name even after he had disowned him for his entire life. After all he had endured, he remain loyal to his father's name in the belief that he had molded him into the man he was today. And he would turn his father's failure into his success. Military Service: Second World War Ryan took part in the D-Day Landings where he helped save the life of fellow soldier Jamie-Todd Peterson and fought alongside George O'Brian. Along with Daniel Brennan, he was recruited into Task Force Capricorn-1 by Lieutenant Nicholas Ealing. Category:Characters of Issuing Orders Category:Operation Stormcrow